Russia reduces the possibility of holding a quick meeting to prepare for the Putin-Trump summit

Yesterday, Moscow dashed hopes about the possibility of holding a quick meeting between the foreign ministers of Russia and the United States, to prepare for a summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, to discuss the Ukraine war. After a phone call last week, the American and Russian presidents announced that they would meet in Budapest to discuss ways to put an end to the Ukraine war, which was sparked by a military operation launched by Moscow in February 2022.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his American counterpart, Marco Rubio, spoke the day before yesterday to discuss preparations for the summit, and they are expected to meet in person to agree on its details.

Trump reported that the meeting with Putin might take place within two weeks, which seems not to be possible.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said yesterday that “it is still too early to talk about the program” of the preparatory meeting between Lavrov and Rubio.

Russian news agencies quoted him as saying, “The meeting was not specifically discussed, neither before the call nor during (Monday’s) call.” He added: “Any major communication of this kind must be well prepared,” noting that what he called “the performing (duties) phase” must first be completed.

Trump, who had previously stressed that he was able to end the Ukraine war within hours, expressed his dissatisfaction with Moscow and Kiev against the backdrop of the failure of his mediation efforts to bring peace between the two countries.

Putin rejected several calls for a ceasefire and adhered to a stringent list of demands that Kyiv considered unacceptable.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is seeking to attend the Budapest summit, ruled out the possibility of giving up any territory.

Several rounds of direct negotiations between the Russians and Ukrainians in Istanbul did not achieve any significant breakthrough, except for the exchange of prisoners and the return of the remains of soldiers killed in battle.

A previous summit between Putin and Trump in Alaska ended earlier this year, without achieving any significant breakthrough towards reaching a peace agreement. Ukraine stresses the necessity of arranging a meeting between Putin and Zelensky in order to achieve progress, but the Kremlin has ruled out any talks with the Ukrainian president before reaching a peace agreement.

In addition, Zelensky and the leaders of European countries, including France, Britain, and Germany, believed that the current front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces should be a “basis” for peace negotiations.

The leaders wrote in a joint statement: “We strongly support President Trump’s position on the necessity of stopping the fighting immediately, and that the current line of engagement be the basis for negotiations.”

They stressed “adherence to the principle of not modifying international borders by force,” pledging to continue their support for Ukraine so that Kiev remains “in the strongest possible position before, during and after the ceasefire.”

The statement was signed by Zelensky, European Council President Antonio Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. It was also signed by the leaders of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Poland.

It is expected that the leaders of the European Union countries will unite their ranks in support of Ukraine, during a summit in Brussels tomorrow, Thursday, followed by a meeting of European leaders in London, on Friday, to discuss the next steps to help Kiev.